Swindon Town Centre (Purgatory Circle)

Been down town, to the same old places, familiar faces. The beard and beanie busker, strumming, ignored. The giggling teenagers, impressing each other with outrageous remarks at indifferent strangers. The overly polite shop assistants. ‘Can I help you?’ Not with anything of importance, no. The mentally ill man, shuffling, smiles madly to himself, creating reality out of the apathy in which he lives. Swindon town centre, you groan under the weight of your own insignificance. Your purgatory circle offers delay, a hamburger, rain and despair. There are no bargains here. Everything is for sale, but regret is the only thing that you have to offer.

*Photograph is of Richey Edwards (Manic Street Preachers) showing off his tattoo of Dante's Inferno.

Liberalism, reality, nihilism and depression

‘If you really care, wash the feet of a beggar.’

Some clever bloke said that. Indoctrinated and educated within the feminist neo-liberal/Marxist UK education system he got a bit depressed because he realised that people only really act out of self-interest.

Before he threw himself off a bridge (probably) he looked at the world, saw lot’s of dirty beggar feet and realised that no matter what people said, their actions demonstrated that they didn’t really care about anybody other than themselves.

That can be very depressing for the ‘liberal’ mind-set as it’s a wake up call to reality, and that’s one thing that liberals hate more than anything else, more than people like me actually.

It’s difficult to deal with reality when you come from the ideological prison known as the ‘left.’  It angers you, it makes you throw insults, and it makes you accuse people of alleged social justice warrior ills.

Oh, he’s just a racist, sexist, homophobe, bigot, right?

As long as you keep accusing those that disagree with you, you don’t have to examine the truth behind your own shaky ideological foundations.

So, will you wash a beggar’s feet tonight?

Will you do something to prove that you really care?

Or will you drink a beer, fill your belly, ignore reality and find a politically incorrect thought criminal to criticise?

Liberalism is collectivism, and collectivism is a lie.

It requires you to ignore human nature, to ignore reality and to live a repressed life of self-delusion.

Liberalism is about individual weakness, backed-up by the gun of the state.

Reject self-hatred.

Reject weakness.

Reject statism.

Reject neo-liberalism.

Comic review: They’re Not Like Us #1- Depressed teen joins cult

Story: Eric Stephenson
Art: Simon Gane
Colours: Jordie Bellaire
Publisher: Image comics
Released: 24th December 2014



I’m a huge fan (cult member) of what is commonly referred to as the Richey Manic era of the Welsh pop/rock band Manic Street Preachers, so plastering ‘From Despair to Where’ on the front page of your comic book is guaranteed to get my attention.

This phrase/question ‘From Despair to Where?’ refers to a MSP’s single from their second studio album ‘Gold Against the Soul.’

The song itself is a depressing dirge about a young man finding himself lost and alone in an indifferent adult world of empty routines and blank, indifferent faces:

‘Outside open mouthed crowds 
Pass each other as if they're drugged.’

The song offers no hope, no redemption, no meaning, just a repeated question:

‘From despair to where?’

‘From despair to where?’

‘From despair to where?’

The answer, for the writer at least, was in all probability, suicide. That message of hopelessness, of defeat, is the perfect starting point to a comic book narrative that begins with a suicide attempt. But after the attempt fails, where does the story go?

From despair, to where?

In ‘They’re Not Like Us #1’ it goes into a generic cult story that comes off as more X-Men and the school of mutants rather than as anything genuinely subversive or threatening. The main protagonist (a pretty young blonde) is the perfect stand-in for a confused young mutant with special powers, but rather than being taken in by Wolverine or Professor X she is taken in by a scruffy looking bloke with mind reading powers and a hatred for society.

This cult leader bloke (The Voice) is a generic comic book cult leader villain, the exact type of guy that you would expect to see in a comic book leading the vulnerable young and suicidal protagonist astray. He saves her life, offers her a new home, but wants her to do a terrible thing to prove her loyalty. It’s pretty standard cult leader stuff, and not very interesting at all.

The Manic Street Preacher tie-in extends to the cover, and back-cover quotation. The actual book itself has no ‘lipstick’ traces of the ideas expressed by the band whatsoever. The song title is used as a launching pad only, a depressing song for a depressed protagonist.

The artwork is fine, but the story isn’t really doing anything for me. It’s a sad girl joins cult book. I can’t see anything else going on here, and so, off I go. One issue and off for me. I enjoyed the Manics references, but that’s not enough for me. It’s not a terrible book, but I don’t really want to spend my time reading yet another book about a depressed teen joining a team of evil cult followers. Where’s Professor X when you need him?

Rating: 5/10


Click link for the MSP's song (From Despair to where?) referenced in this review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCd8iHAVahQ